Deadlier than Delta variant: No case of Lambda variant reported in India
CREDIT: ADOBESTOCK
New Delhi: India has not recorded any Covid-19 infection due to the Lambda variant of the virus until now, reported news agency ANI quoting sources.
The new strain has been detected in more than 30 countries in the past four weeks.
"The Lambda strain was reported to have originated from Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world," said the UK's health ministry earlier this week.
The variant accounts for nearly 82% of the coronavirus cases reported during May and June in Peru, reported news agency ANI, citing the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
The Public Health England in the UK also recently said that a handful of cases caused by the Lambda variant have detected in the country. It said that the strain has "a potential increased transmissibility or possible increased resistance to neutralizing antibodies".
PAHO's regional advisor on emerging viral diseases, Jairo Mendez, said on 30 June that Lambda had been detected in eight countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, "but sporadically in most countries".
While it is clearly the dominant strain in Peru, in Chile, it accounts for more than 31% of the samples from May and June, Euro News reported.
Mendez further stated that there was not yet clear evidence it was a more transmissible virus.
India added 43,733 new cases of coronavirus taking the total infection tally to 3,06,63,665, while the active cases further declined to 4,59,920, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to 4,04,211 with 930 daily fatalities.
The active cases have further declined to 4,59,920 and comprise 1.50 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 97.18 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed. Also, 19,07,216 tests were conducted on Tuesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 42,33,32,097.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.29 per cent . It has been less than three per cent for 16 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.39 per cent.